"How many 28mm figures on a 4’x6’ table?" Topic

This is for formation type units – pike and shot, ACW, etc. It seems like frontage for a fig is up to one inch and for cavalry up to two inches. You could squeeze in 72 or more infantry in a line, and then they might be a few ranks deep. But then there is no room for maneuver. And artillery and its needed field of fire is a kind of special case, too.

So how may figures/stands/regiments have you used at once on a six by four table and still had maneuver space?

This was setting up the battle of Almanza on a 4x8

Eventually around 1200 figures. Maneuvering consisted of mostly straight ahead charges, except for the Portuguese who mostly sit around and wait to be run over.

I'd try 3/4" per figure, which will gain about 18" of extra table space if you lined up 72 figures. I think the level of the rules also matters. If you use 28s on a 6x4 table you are already in contact (with most rules), so maneuver would be extremely limited (except for skirmish gaming). The maneuvering took place before contact, which is how your figures ended up where they are. Scenario design will allow for some maneuver. Double-ranked figures and the use of reserves will increase the number of figures on the table.

If you use 12 man units and want to maneuver, I'd say about 50-75 figures per side. You can increase your number of maneuver elements by using a base is a unit style rules, so a base of four figures may represent a regiment or a brigade.

Personally, I am a fan of big figures, and I am a fan of a base is a unit type of rules. If I wanted 12-24 figure regiments and I wanted to maneuver, I'd drop down to a smaller scale figure.

At least enough room so that the flanks aren't protected by the edge of the table unless the flank is supposed to be impassible terrain.

I have a 12x4 foot table and I use 10mm troops.

Problem solved.

I would not wish to get figs too close to the edge of the table. Leave room for flanking or just to have a little room to avoid them falling off.

I would agree that maneuvers are pretty well done by the time 28mm figures meetup on a 6x4 table. At this point your pretty much just going to try to engage what's in front of each unit. Assume most games these days run a pretty standard 6 turn game there isn't much time for fancy maneuvers on table. I would generalize that most infantry will take 2 turns of movement before reaching an enemy unit. 1-4 rounds (1-2 turns) of combat. Then a turn to try to recover before making a final engagement run on another target. Deployment is where games at this size/scale are won or lost, oh and those fickle dice of course.

Been sometime since I have put figures to table. But we would regularly run 8-12 units with 10-30 figures each.

It's not the number of figures but the unit frontages. Total of all unit frontages should be between 3/4 and 1 1/2 times the table width--so 4'6" to 9' for a 6' table. Anything more and it's pure attrition. Anything less and the armies may march past each other.

How many actual figures the means depends on figure frontages, percentages of the different arms and number of ranks in a formed unit.

I have a simple rule. Line up every stand in the army. Leaders, artillery, the works. They should cover no more than 2/3 of the table width. Any more and the game is pointless: charge ahead and roll dice. All the decisions have been made.

Another reason I gave up 28x and I regularly play on a 6x8 up to 6 x 20 table.

Having seen some 40K games:
As many Blood Angels as want to!

4 x 12 x 6 x 12 = 3456

So … 3455?

On the serious side, I do agree with robert piepenbrink that the frontage should be between 1/2 to 3/4 of the board for an army engagement.